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Tennessee PoliticsMon, 07 Apr 2014 14:51:50 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6State law on menu labeling authority stops Metro health board in its trackshttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2010/states-menu-labeling-law-stops-metro-health-board-in-its-tracks/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2010/states-menu-labeling-law-stops-metro-health-board-in-its-tracks/#commentsTue, 09 Feb 2010 22:26:15 +0000Michael Casshttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/?p=9430When the General Assembly decided that only elected officials can create menu labeling requirements at the local level, it wiped out the rules the Metro Board of Health voted for nearly a year ago.

“It does stop the board from establishing those regulations,” Brian Todd, spokesman for the Metro Health Department and the Board of Health, said this afternoon.

The board decided last March to require chains with 15 or more outlets nationwide to put calorie counts next to menu items at their Davidson County locations. The Metro Council then took up legislation saying such decisions could only be made by the council, and the General Assembly did the same, ultimately approving the measure.

“It’s disappointing for the board, because the reason for the veto was that our members are appointed by publicly elected officials,” Todd said, adding that the board hopes Congress will address the issue nationally. “You continue to hear monthly, if not weekly, about other cities and states establishing or working to establish menu labeling regulations.”

Metro Councilman Jim Gotto applauded the state’s move. Gotto was one of the council members who argued last year that the health board shouldn’t be able to make a decision with economic ramifications for many restaurants, though city attorneys opined that the board was acting within its rights.

It’s unclear if other council members will try to take up the menu labeling issue locally or wait for Congress to act.

]]>http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2010/states-menu-labeling-law-stops-metro-health-board-in-its-tracks/feed/0Metro Council might lie low on menu labeling for a whilehttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2009/metro-council-might-lie-low-on-menu-labeling-for-a-while/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2009/metro-council-might-lie-low-on-menu-labeling-for-a-while/#commentsThu, 02 Jul 2009 14:53:58 +0000Michael Casshttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/?p=5139Metro Councilman Jim Gotto said today that he’ll advise holding off on any action on menu labeling until after the General Assembly returns next January, since the requirements put in place by the Metro Board of Health won’t take effect until next spring. The legislature could try to override Gov. Phil Bredesen’s veto and prevent local health boards from requiring menu labeling, but state Sen. Paul Stanley said he’s more likely to introduce new legislation to do the same thing.

]]>http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2009/metro-council-might-lie-low-on-menu-labeling-for-a-while/feed/0Roll it backhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2009/roll-it-back/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2009/roll-it-back/#commentsWed, 11 Mar 2009 16:53:50 +0000Michael Casshttp://data.tennessean.com/politics/?p=1237Well, that didn’t take long. Several Metro Council members want to undo the menu-labeling regulation the city’s health board enacted just last Thursday. They say that should be their call.

Gov. Phil Bredesen files legislation regarding personnel rules that he says will help ease the state’s fiscal crisis. Meanwhile, Republican Steve McDaniel takes over as House Speaker — only temporarily — for Kent Williams, as he tends to his ailing mother in Elizabethton, and Speaker Pro Tem Lois DeBerry recovers from a recent hospitalization.